RioneBRONZE Member
member
43 posts
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
For a while, I've been exploring the realms of tea... green tea, chamomile tea, earl grey tea, lemon tea, raspberry tea, apple pear cinnamon tea, indian spice tea, mocha cinnamon tea, mint tea, chai, and even kiwi tea. Black tea, tea with milk, tea with soy milk, 0, 1, and 2 sugars. Tea in bags, and tea by the leaf.

But then my friend bought this new exotic tea from a small oriental store:

Non-Https Image Link


When I stopped over by her place for some tea, she offered it to me with the apology of "I'm not sure exactly how you're supposed to drink this...", which of course only made me more curious about it. Then she opened the box:

Non-Https Image Link

and I understood what she meant. She explained that she'd been using it by chipping off pieces of it to put into her tea, but she wanted to know if there was a specific way you were supposed to do it. And, for that matter, so do I smile


So, I know there are a fair number of tea drinkers on HOP... anyone seen tea like this before? Anyone know how to use it?

Also, if you know of any other cool tea that people (um... meaning 'me') should try to further the exploration of tea, I'd love to hear it! biggrin

BozBRONZE Member
sober
109 posts
Location: Bury St. Edmunds, suffolk, United Kingdom


Posted:
has she asked at the store?

*produces sandwich- is happy*


NOnactivist for HoPper liberation.
1,643 posts
Location: ffidrac


Posted:
are you positive it is tea?... if so, then i guess chipping bits off is the best way to tackle it, unless you soak it for a while and then have to redry it.......? interesting indeed....

as for tea you should try, if you can get it in france Twinings do a green tea with pineapple and grapefruit, which sounds quite wrong, but it's really nice!

Aurinko freedom agreement reached 10th Sept 2006

if it makes no sense that's because it's NOn-sense.


BethMiss Whippy
1,262 posts
Location: Cornwall & Oxford


Posted:
Twinings do green tea with earl grey as well its yummy.



That kind of tea in the picture, ive never seen before. What country is it from? I take it it's black tea, hmm. Best bet is to chip a bit off, put it in a teapot and see what happens, or go back to the shop and ask....



I am also a huge tea freak, i love the stuff! Here are some of my favourite teas you should check out:



Oolong - Formosa or better, Monkey Picked ti kuan ying (very expensive but so so yummy)



Japanese teas - silver needle, bancha twig, jasmine spring plums (amazing tea!), hougicha.



Chinese teas - normal green, jasmine pearls, white needle, Gu Zhang Mao Jian and dragon's whiskers.



Other teas like Rooibos, ceylon and darjeeling are regulars in my cupboard. Oh and the gorgeous Egyptian hibiscus tea, Kerkeday (sp) not really tea but its soooo nice, like ribena but healthy.



Theres also ones you can find in the supermarket like assam and lapsang, though i dont like them personally. Also fruit 'teas' are nice but they dont have any tea in them, i tend to avoid them as they are a bit boring in flavour.



Hope this gives you a few ideas! smile



hug

Aim high and you'll know your limits, aim low and you'll never know how high you could have climbed.


RioneBRONZE Member
member
43 posts
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
Boz- No, I don't think she's asked at the store... I can ask her where she bought it, though, and maybe check it out myself.

NOn- yes it's definately tea (well, at least it's labled as tea on the packaging, although it's not visible in the photos). She's already tried some of it using the chip-off-a-chunk method ubblol

Beth- Oolong tea is my brother's favorite :3 thanks for all the awesome tea ideas! I HAVE to try hibiscus tea sometime; I have jasmine tea right now and I love it, it'd be fun to try other flower teas biggrin

animatEdBRONZE Member
1 + 1 = 3
3,540 posts
Location: Bristol UK


Posted:
My favourite at the moment is Earl Grey and Vanilla tea...

And then mix in some chocolate as well... Mmmm...

Tea... biggrin

Empty your mind. Be formless, Shapeless, like Water.
Put Water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Water can flow, or it can Crash.
Be Water My Friend.


FearsaorRosaBRONZE Member
Cyr Wheel Artist, Fire Performer, Poi Enthusiast
43 posts
Location: World, Ireland


Posted:
I can agrre on the tea subject. I think that you would have to use that a little at a time my parter says it looks big and heavy. I personally like jasmine tea and lemon and ginger/ Green tea. What is everyone g=favorite tea by the way. I like mate de coca but you can only get that in my homeland (South America). Ill do a little reasearch on your big pack of tea for you. Thankks
Rosita

I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.


pop_n_freshmember
48 posts
Location: Scotland


Posted:
whats writen on the pakaging? any discription about it or even a name. then just google that. or email the tea council. www.tea.co.uk

Just call me Pop.


NOnactivist for HoPper liberation.
1,643 posts
Location: ffidrac


Posted:
i never knew we had a tea council! gosh.. a council for everything....

Aurinko freedom agreement reached 10th Sept 2006

if it makes no sense that's because it's NOn-sense.


RioneBRONZE Member
member
43 posts
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
I found info about the mystery tea!

My friend gave me the name of it (tuocha), and I went to the tea council's website, and here's what I found:


"Originally from Yunnan province, it is compressed into a bird's nest shape by pressing the tea leaves into a bowl and has a similar earthy, elemental taste."

cool info... but not exactly a how-to. But then, being one of the Internet Folk*, I am blessed with the Magical Quasi-All-Knowing power that is Google. And lo, a how-to was found!

Tuocha tea is a style of pu-erh tea, which comes compressed in various shapes (bricks, frisbee shapes, or in the case of tuocha, bird nest shapes). In order to drink it, you "use a strong knife to carefully pry out some leaves. The technique that works best is to insert the knife into the edge of the brick and then gently work it up and down until the tea loosens and falls off." Next, "Add about 3-4 grams per serving of tea (the amount depends upon type of pu-erh) to your teapot." Then, "add hot boiling water at a full rolling boil -- it’s the only tea that should be made with boiling water."

"If the tea looks dusty, you may wish to wash the leaves with a brief 10-15-second infusion. Then pour off the liquid.

Steep for 2-3 minutes. Once the tea seems ready to you, give it a stir and then pour and taste. If necessary, adjust the steeping time for a stronger taste. The Tibetans are famous for brewing their pu-erh teas overnight to make their famous Soo Jah (Yak Butter and Salt Tea). "



*little is known of the Internet Folk, except for the fact that their elusive population is constantly in flux; those who are at one point Internet Folk may spontaneously be disconnected for various and obscure reasons (such Folk, just before being snuffed from existence in the internet universe have been reported to cry out in Ancient Internetfolkian "Fhuk'indailu'p!"). If you are reading this post, you, too, are one of the Internet Folk.

Neon_ShaolinGOLD Member
hehe, 'Member' huhuh
6,120 posts
Location: Behind you. With Jam


Posted:
You need to get your hands on some 'Monkey Tea' from China.

Historically it's a tea which grows in hard-to-reach areas in the mountain. According to history they used to train monkeys to climb the mountain to pick this tea and bring it back down. This tea has since been called 'Monkey Tea' (or literally translated means 'Monkey-picked tea)

"I used to want to change the world, now I just wanna leave the room with a little dignity..." - Lotus Weinstock


Gnarly CraniumSILVER Member
member
186 posts
Location: San Francisco, USA


Posted:
Matcha is the best stuff ever, but darn near impossible to find. It's the powdered green tea they use in the tea ceremony-- technically there's several different kinds, the main categories being thin tea or thick tea, and I think thin is the type usually found if you can get your hands on any. I don't live in a city big enough to have its own asian market, so I order mine online. You can also make your own green tea ice cream with it by mixing a little spoonful into vanilla ice cream.


Other things I consume in mass quantities:
Genmaicha-- green tea with toasted brown rice
White tea with peach
Tazo earl grey
Celestial Seasonings red zinger, iced

"Ours is not to question The Head; it is enough to revel in the ubiquitous inanity of The Head, the unwanted proximity of The Head, the unrelenting HellPresence of The Head, indeed the very UNYIELDING IRRELEVANCE of The Head!" --Revelation X



Similar Topics

Using the keywords [tea quest] we found the following existing topics.

  1. Forums > Twirlers & Teachers needed for festival (17th August @ Victoria, Austtralia) [1 reply]
  2. Forums > Tea Quest! [11 replies]

      Show more..

HOP Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more...